South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol named an economist as a new senior secretary to boost the country’s birthrate, which ranks as the lowest in the world and threatens long-term economic prospects.

You Hye Mi, a professor at the College of Economics and Finance at Hanyang University, was named as the new senior secretary for low birthrates, the presidential office announced on Thursday. 

You, who holds a doctorate from the University of Rochester, has written extensively about economic issues facing families, and becomes the only woman among Yoon’s senior presidential aides. You is a mother of twins, the presidential office said.

“A working-mom of elementary school twins herself, the new secretary understands better than anyone the real-life hardship of juggling childcare and career,” Yoon’s chief of staff, Chung Jin-suk, told reporters.

The appointment comes as South Korea prepares to launch a new ministry dedicated to boosting the fertility rate. The lack of babies is speeding up the ageing of society, as well as generating concerns about the growing fiscal burden of public pensions and healthcare. 

The number of babies expected per woman in a lifetime fell to 0.72 last year from 0.78 in 2022, according to data released in February by South Korea’s national statistics office.

You said at a news briefing she will look to draw up policies for the near term as well as make fundamental structural changes to boost the birthrate.

A variety of factors are blamed for the reluctance among South Koreans to have babies, from high costs of living to a lack of affordable housing. Parents also fear unfavourable consequences after coming back from childcare. 

A disproportionate distribution of domestic duties is another cause cited for women’s lack of willingness to give birth. In a 2019 study jointly conducted with her husband, another economist, You showed how women tend to spend more time handling household chores as the number of children increases, while men are hardly influenced by it.

South Korea has the smallest share of parents going on leave for children in the developed world, according to a Korea National Assembly Research Service study. 

It also has the highest share of late-middle-aged women with temporary jobs among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a factor that feeds into the worst gender wage gap in the developed world. 

  - Bloomberg